Of Course Fergie's Going To Play Reserves At Hull

Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Hull City and Sunderland are set for a last-day showdown to decide who're gonna ply their trade in the Championship next season. Right now it looks like Hull and Sunderland are staying up, sending Newcastle and Boro down - but things can all change on the final day.

I think that Hull fans with a bit of a foresight did not share the neutrals' hopes of an exciting title race: I'm sure they wanted an already crowned Manchester United visiting the KC Stadium on the final weekend.

Also they were probably rooting for us in the Champions League semi-final, knowing that a final showdown with either Barcelona or Chelsea three days after the final league game would provide quite a distraction for us...

Well, they got their wish and now they can prepare to host Macheda, Welbeck, Gibson and co. whom Fergie praised to the high heavens after clinching his 11th English league title.

'This is the best squad I've ever had,' he told MUTV.

'I could have picked two teams against Arsenal last week, and I'll be picking a team on Sunday against Hull that will reflect that strength.

'We have a fantastic squad of around 28 or 29 players now, which includes the likes of Macheda, Welbeck, Possebon, Gibson, Rafael and Fabio.

'They are young but they're very, very good players, and good characters, too. I think that gives us a back-up that we've never had before.'

Seeing the fragile health of our defenders, I wouldn't rule out a Neville-Eckersley central pairing... which would leave Newcastle and Boro screaming about the integrity of the competition which would be only slightly restored by the inclusion of Darren Fletcher who is sadly suspended from the Champions League final.

However, no relegation-threatened team could reasonably expect Fergie to risk his stars three days before a showdown with Europe's other best team...